Coulomb Explosion and Intense-Field Photodissociation of Ion-Beam H2+ and D2+

As the simplest molecule in nature, the hydrogen molecular ion
provides a unique system for studying molecules in intense laser
fields. In this thesis, the Coulomb explosion and photodissociation
channel of H2+ and D2+ have been investigated with 790-nm,
sub-100-fs laser pulses by employing a high-resolution
photofragment imaging technique. Unlike most experiments, where
neutral molecules were used as a target, in this work molecular
ions were prepared by an electric discharge, providing well-defined
starting conditions and allowing experiments at lower intensities.
At intensities close to the threshold for Coulomb explosion
(